Utah Lawmaker Proposes Minimum Wage Hike

By Duke Dance

Published on February 12, 2014 at 12:03PM

A Utah lawmaker and religious groups are pushing to raise Utah’s minimum wage to 10.25 an hour. Rep. Lynn Hemingway’s’ proposal would raise the wage by 3 from $7.25 an hour. It would only apply to workers who are at least 17 years old. Rstaurant servers who work for tips would see their wage increase by $1 to $3.13 an hour.

The Salt Lake City Democrat says he knows his colleagues will be reluctant to pass such a measure but says it will help people escape poverty. A coalition of religious groups appeared at a news conference Tuesday to support Hemingway’s proposal. His bill has not yet had a hearing.

House Speaker Becky Lockhart, a Provo Republican, says most lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House oppose a hike.